FIDE World Cup Preview

Another big event is about to begin: the FIDE World Cup in Tromsø, Norway. The clocks will be started on Sunday at 15:00 CET for the first games of the first round. As always, the tournament is a knockout with 128 players; among the participants are Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura, Boris Gelfand and Gata Kamsky. The prize fund is 1.6 million Euros.

The FIDE World Cup is part of the World Championship cycle. It is held every two years, and according to the regulations, the winner and the runner up will qualify to the Candidates stage of the World Championship cycle 2012-2014. If there is a 3rd place qualification, a match will be organized together, and with the same terms, with the final match of the World Cup to decide the 3rd place.

The last four editions were held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. This year the host city is Tromsø, the largest city in Northern Norway and the second largest city anywhere north of the Arctic Circle. "Its population of 71,000 is boosted by 9,500 students attending the University of Tromsø, giving this modern city a youthful and spirited vibe. Tromsø is situated on an urban island, amid beautiful nature, fantastic fjords and dramatic mountain peaks," writes the official website.

There are 128 players and seven rounds, the last being the final between two players. In rounds 1-6 the players play two classical games, and if necessary a rapid and blitz playoff. In round 7 the players play four classical games, and if necessary a rapid and blitz playoff.

Chess.com/TV

Chess.com will provide live commentary on the second day of every round, when the most exciting (and decisive) games will be played. At the moment, commentary is scheduled for Monday, August 12th, Thursday, August 15th, Sunday, August 18th, Wednesday, August 21st, and Saturday, August 24th. More info here!

Time control

The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. The tiebreaks start with two games of 25 minutes for each player with an addition of 10 seconds after each move. If the score is 1-1, another mini-match of two games will be played with a time control of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment after each move. If the score is 2-2, another mini-match of two games will be played with a time control of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds increment after each move. If the score is 3-3, an Armageddon game will decide with 5 minutes for White and 4 minutes for Black who has draw odds. (In this game, from move 61 there will be a 3-second increment).

Prizes

Round

Prize

Subtotal

Round 1 losers:

64 x USD 6,000 (net 4,800)

USD 384,000

Round 2 losers:

32 x USD 10,000 (net 8,000)

USD 320,000

Round 3 losers:

16 x USD 16,000 (net 12,800)

USD 256,000

Round 4 losers:

8 x USD 25,000 (net 20,000)

USD 200,000

Round 5 losers:

4 x USD 35,000 (net 28,000)

USD 140,000

Round 6 losers:

2 x USD 50,000 (net 40,000)

USD 100,000

Runner-up:

1 x USD 80,000 (net 64,000)

USD 80,000

World Cup winner:

1 x USD 120,000 (net 96,000)

USD 120,000

Total

USD 1,600,000

Players

The World Cup is a knockout event that starts with 128 players. They qualified as follows (in order of priority): World Champion + 4 semi-finalists from the World Cup 2011, the Women's World Champion, the World Junior U-20 Champions 2011 & 2012, 18 rated players, 92 players from Continental Championships, 6 FIDE President nominees and 4 organiser nominees.

Only three super grandmasters are not playing: World Champion Viswanathan Anand, his opponent in the next world title Magnus Carlsen, and the winner of the 2012-2013 Grand Prix series, Veselin Topalov.

Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik, who have skipped World Cups in the past, need to play this year. The current FIDE regulations state that players can only qualify on rating for the 2014 Candidates Tournament if they have participated in the FIDE Grand Prix series or the World Cup, and Aronian and Kramnik said no to the GP.